A great modern take on a classic genre that was huge in the 16bit era. As a fan of action platformers, this really brought me back. This game genuinely plays like an SNES game, and I mean that as a pro and con. The gameplay is spot on to what they were aiming to achieve here. However anyone who played this genre back in the day knows there were rough edges with many of the games, soA great modern take on a classic genre that was huge in the 16bit era. As a fan of action platformers, this really brought me back. This game genuinely plays like an SNES game, and I mean that as a pro and con. The gameplay is spot on to what they were aiming to achieve here. However anyone who played this genre back in the day knows there were rough edges with many of the games, so ironically, this stays true to that. I found the controls to not be as tight as I would like from a modern game in the genre, but instead it really does feel like the excellent but flawed games of the past. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about the movement and attacks do not feel fluid. Obviously you get used to it and learn how to adapt so it’s not that bad, but I found it hard to ignore. Beyond that, the game is great. It has a Mega Man X format where you can approach the levels in any order you wish (after the initial level). The game itself is relatively short in terms of content, but depending on your skill, you can still get a solid few hours out of it. That is another similarity to the classic games that I appreciate - there were plenty of games that you never saw to the end simply because they were challenging, yet you still played them for months in end. It’s pretty reasonably balanced in this game as there are extra lives hidden in each level and checkpoints that are reasonable (not too generous, but not too frustrating). There are a few options to make the game easier, but I would recommend you play this like an old school game and challenge yourself, otherwise you’ll miss the point. The only other major complaint I have is that the power moves can make many bosses a bit too easy, as you can just spam the special attack and string together a couple three piece attacks and they all fall very fast. I would have much preferred bosses where you really have to learn their moves and find their openings, the only time I really felt that I had to learn the moves without cheesing was the last boss. Once you figure out the controls and adapt to them, it’s pretty easy just to run through the levels with minimal effort. . I really appreciate what was done with the art style and the pixel graphics, they did an exceptional job with the aesthetic design. It really is that impressive. The music felt a little out of place though, everything else channels that 16bit theme, but the music feels like a little too high quality and modern. Again, nothing that ruins the game, but it’s noticeable. All in all, I enjoyed it, and I think any fan of the 16bit classics and knows how to appreciate the difficulty should absolutely check it out. I believe this game is more of a fan service for fans of the genre, which is not a bad thing, but people who don’t like the genre won’t get much out of it. This game did an decent job at what it set out to do. If it weren’t for the controls and underwhelming difficulty (as opposed to level memorization and skill), I would have given it an 8.… Expand
Vengeful Guardian: MoonriderYour Score0 out of 10User Score
